1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to surgical drapes, and more particularly, to underbuttock surgical drapes and surgical drapes for use in surgeries where the surgical site is located in the vicinity of an edge of an operating table.
2. Background Art
The current practice of positioning a surgical drape for underbuttock applications is a tedious multi-step process involving positioning a patient on an operating table, positioning a separate waste bag under the patient, prepping the patient, placing prepping wastes in the waste bag and discarding the bag, a surgical personnel “scrubbing in” and placing the drape between the patient's buttocks and the operating table. Prior art underbuttock drapes frequently comprise a sheet folded to form a plurality of pleats wherein one end of the sheet is positioned and secured under a patient's weight and the opposing end is pulled out to unfurl the pleats to form a substantially flat sheet.
An operating table for surgeries involving the lower body typically comes in three segments, i.e., the head segment, the leg segment and the torso segment. Currently, in preparation for a lower body surgery, the leg segment of the operating table is collapsed and a patient is positioned with his/her buttocks adjacent to the edge of the torso segment and the legs supported on stirrups. A surgical drape that is both easily removable and providing isolation between the surgical site and its surrounding must be placed near an edge of the operating table. In use, a portion of the drape covers an edge of the operating table while the remaining portion covers an area adjacent to that edge. Currently, a patient is moved to and positioned on an operating table in preparation for surgery before a surgical drape can be positioned under the patient due to the lack of an independent means to secure the drape to the operating table.
There are several drawbacks in the practice of placing a drape under a patient. Frequently, a sterile drape is unintentionally released and dropped on the floor due to its position near the edge of the operating table and the lack of an independent securing means, rendering it contaminated or otherwise unusable. In addition, it takes a longer amount of time and more effort to put a drape in place since the drape is forced under the buttocks. In use, the conventional prior art drape is not secured independently under the buttocks, thereby allowing patient maneuver or positioning of the patient to cause wrinkles in the portion of drape coming in contact with the patient. This results in wrinkle sores on the patient. Since the drape is positioned after patient has been moved to the operating table, the patient may be moved away from the edge where surgery is to be performed momentarily if difficulty is encountered in placing the drape under the patient position. This increased interaction and physical manipulation of the patient creates a higher likelihood of contamination. If a patient is put under anesthesia, adjusting the patient position becomes even more difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,991 B2 discloses a surgical drape that is deployed from its plicated configuration. While in its plicated configuration, accidental contact between a contamination source and the pleats of the drape may render the entire drape unusable. Another disadvantage of the plicated configuration lies in the depth of pleats formed. If made too shallow, the pleats may not unfurl to result in a substantially flat drape. If made too deep, the depth of the pleats may necessitate the placement of at least a portion of the pre-deployed drape under the weight imparted by a patient, thereby complicating drape deployment. A further disadvantage of the plicated configuration lies in an improperly deployed drape where the pleats are not completely unfurled. This problem may leave folds in the drape whereby these folds can collect surgical waste or stop it from rolling down to a purpose built collecting bin. An improperly deployed drape may also deflect waste outside of the collecting bin, thereby contaminating the area outside of the collecting bin.
There exists a need for a safe under-patient surgical drape which is deployable easily and without fail.